The invention relates to a percussion mallet for use with a xylophone or marimba and more particularly relates to improved apparatus and method for making a percussion mallet.
Originally, xylophone/marimba mallets were constructed from 100% virgin rubber wrapped onto the end of a mallet stick. The virgin rubber provides a "darker" musical sound (timbre) from the musical instrument than what is possible from other materials. Many of these early percussion mallets were manufactured in Guatamala where there exists a source of virgin rubber. In making the Guatamalan mallets, rubber strips were wrapped continually around the end of a mallet stick.
The diameter of the mallet head is varied to provide different amounts of mass to the head for using different mallets to play different ranges of pitches, produced by the mallet striking against the musical instrument. Different sized mallets are generally used at different parts of the instrument.
Thus, in the percussion art, musicians generally associate the musical tone to be produced by a mallet with the particular diametrical size of the mallet head. For example, if a musician desires to play a lower musical pitch, he would use a mallet having a large diameter head; if the musician wishes to play a higher pitch, he would use a mallet having a small diameter head. The musician thus has become habitized into selecting different diameter-head mallets in accordance with the pitch to be played.
It would be highly desirable to provide mallets of like sizes but which are able to be used to produce different tonal qualities. However, decreasing the size of the mallet head confronts the habit of the musician to equate head size with pitch selection.
It would be highly desirable to provide several mallets of standard size but with each mallet having a different timbre producing characteristic (despite head size) and at the same time overcome the head-size-to-frequency association in the musical field.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved percussion mallet and method for making the same.